It was about time ⏰

2022 is already speeding by and here we are in February already. It was time for my monthly visit to the barbershop again already. I was the first customer on this day and it only took me about 20 minutes to get finished up. I was out of the place before 10:30 am. There isn't much to talk about in regards to my haircut, it was too early for anybody to be very talkative. This was my first task of the day.

Here are the results of my haircut and beard trim:

I instantly took a shower and washed off all of the excess hair when I got home. Normally I'd let myself smell like a barbershop until late into the evening, but I needed to get cleaned off for another appointment later in the day. I was going to. get my first massage since around 2019 or early 2020.

I used to get a massage every couple of weeks and always loved them so much. I've probably had 50-100 massages in my lifetime and have easily been to one or two dozen different massage therapists. I have met some really great LMTs and some just okay ones. Never have I had an absolutely terrible professional massage though.

There are multiple reasons why I stopped getting massages for a few years. I switched jobs and had daytime hours, which made it hard to get to a massage appointment since I worked all day. I moved into my own apartment for the first time and was trying my best to reduce unneeded costs. Plus massages temporarily were not much of an option due to many people's (not mine) overwhelming fear of COVID.

Upon trying to get back into a somewhat regular massage routine, I noticed that a lot of therapists had increased their costs. I thought that 60/hr was the going rate for a massage, but it seems that 70-100/hr is becoming the new norm. As with pretty much everything, costs are up. I was hesitant to pay that much since I was surviving just fine with my Medcursor Massage Gun.

Now that I no longer have to report to a job daily, I finally have the time to go get massages again. This reminded me that I could also participate in my local massage school's discounted clinic massages. I had always been curious about that option, but this would be my first time giving it a shot. I called to get in as soon as possible. Usually, they are booked several weeks in advance, but I got lucky and filled a cancelation a day or two later.

The main draw for me here is that 60-minute massages are only $40. Students who are pursuing their license must have a certain amount of clinic hours before graduation. I get a discounted massage and they have a willing participant. They even get any tips left for them at the end of their semester. I was hyped to have a solid option for massages again finally.

I arrived and briefly filled out some paperwork. Then I was escorted to a private massage room. I undressed and awaited my student's arrival. She was in the room, started some peaceful music, and got to massaging in no time. I was about to enjoy ultimate levels of relaxation, at least I hoped. Was this girl even going to have any idea what she was doing? I have no clue how long she had been in school, she was definitely young and also a tiny girl. I had faith in her.

As I mentioned before, I have had numerous massages prior to this one. I have a decent understanding of what is good and what isn't, plus I definitely know what I like. I prefer deep tissue and enjoy borderline painful levels of pressure. That simply is not what I received during this massage.

Don't get me wrong, it felt great. I love giving my body the attention it deserves to recover from strength training at the gym. It had been so long since my last massage, so I was just grateful to be getting one. This one was far from the best ever though. I kept my eyes closed pretty much the entire time, besides when I flipped from being on my belly to laying on my back. I didn't have to be looking to know that this girl was still new to the massage world.

I believe she was most likely just afraid she would give me too much pressure, but then again she may have just lacked the power that I require to really feel the benefits of deep tissue. It felt like she was lightly rubbing me the entire time. I wanted so badly to just say "Go ahead and fuck me up already", but I didn't want to make a student feel like she wasn't doing a good job. I was not sure whether it was okay for me to give a student further instruction. I think next time if I have the same girl I will have to make it abundantly clear that I want much more pressure.

I am happy to have a place to go get massages for a fair price, but I want to try different students and see if I can find one that better suits my needs. I will be going back again, but couldn't get another appointment until March 30th. I hope they call me to fill a cancellation before then, I will be all over that opportunity.

My NFTs: @daltono/nfts